The moves may not have been ‘flashy’, but the Cavs absolutely nailed the trade deadline today. Coming into today’s deadline, we all expected Cleveland to make some sort of a ‘splash’ acquisition to supplement LeBron James, but they did the opposite – and the RIGHT thing.
The Cavaliers acquired PG Jordan Clarkson, F Larry Nance Jr., PG George Hill, SF/SF Rodney Hood, and a 2nd RD selection today in three separate trades, while letting go of PG Isaiah Thomas, F Channing Frye, SG Iman Shumpert, PG Derrick Rose, SF Jae Crowder, SG Dwayne Wade, and THEIR 2018 1st RD selection.


The biggest reason the Cavs did so well today was their execution of “addition by subtraction”. They got rid of guys who truly did not fit into the team, were older and less explosive, and hurt them on the defensive end. Thomas and Crowder were having much trouble adjusting to their new teams, and have both been liabilities on D, which is very uncharacteristic especially for Crowder. Wade, Rose and Shumpert, three veterans, had no role with the team and truly slowed their pace down as a whole.


The four guys they acquired, however, are perfect pieces to solve their problem. They’re young, explosive, strong on the defensive end, unselfish, and most importantly PLAY THEIR ROLE! This eliminates another problem which was that EVERYONE wanted the ball beforehand, and were ineffective outside of LeBron!
The defensive rating of the Cavs will certainly skyrocket now, as well as their game pace and athleticism. Put the LeBron’s future crap away since that’s another story. The Cavs want to win, and so does LeBron, and these trades show that their really looking to flip the switch on this nightmare of a season.

 

(P/C: Bleacher Report)